Spurs pass first of many tests to come

Tony Parker sat in front of his locker at the AT&T Center still in full uniform, his tender left ankle already submerged in a cold bath and his newly sprained middle finger wrapped in ice.

The Spurs point guard looked like he had been in a street brawl, which in a way he had.

And he was on the winning side.

Facing the first of five games in nine days against the NBA’s upper crust, the Spurs fought and clawed and — yes — got a little lucky to survive for a 100-99 victory over Denver that led Parker to only one conclusion.

“The playoffs have started,” Parker said.

No, the calendar hasn’t quite flipped to mid-May. But given the down-to-the-wire nature of the night, one might forgive Parker’s confusion.

Tim Duncan scored 23 points to go with 14 rebounds and five blocks, and Danny Green threw in six first-half 3-pointers. Parker added 18 points and 11 assists — shaking off a new finger injury suffered in the third quarter — as the Spurs started the most rugged portion of their season on the right foot.

They could not exhale until the final play, when Denver point guard Andre Miller — subbing ably for hobbled starter Ty Lawson — rolled a left-handed runner off the side of the rim as time expired.

“I’m pretty sure film will show it was a good loss,” Denver coach George Karl said. “Maybe the best loss of the year.”

Had Miller’s shot fallen in, the Spurs probably would be saying the same. As it stands, any win during this scheduling obstacle course feels like a good one.

Other than the Spurs, the top five records in the NBA belong to Denver, which fell to 49-24, Miami, Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis. In the span of six games beginning Wednesday, the Spurs (54-17) face all of them, while clinging to a 1 1/2-game lead over OKC atop the Western Conference.

Next up for the Spurs: A Friday game against the Clippers, whose 49-23 mark ranks fourth in the league. Some have called it Hell Week. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calls it finals week.

“It’s like taking a final exam every day to get ready for the playoffs,” Popovich said.

The Spurs passed their first test Wednesday, despite giving up 68 points in the paint and lob dunk after lob dunk to JaVale McGee, on his way to 21 points and 11 rebounds.

With the Spurs down 14 points in the second quarter, Green resurrected them by knocking down four threes in a 95-second span, igniting an 18-6 run that got his team within 54-51 at half.

“It was looking bad,” said Parker, who dished five of his assists to Green, who ended with 20 points. “He gave us back our energy. Life, basically.”

Back on their feet to start the third, the Spurs played the Nuggets — whose 15-game winning streak ended two nights earlier in New Orleans — toe-to-toe in the type of back-and-forth game that would have been at home in the postseason. There were 15 lead changes and five ties in the second half, with each team forcing the other to keep executing.

The Spurs can expect more of the same over the next week or so, taxed with a schedule Popovich said “should be embraced and considered a great opportunity.”

“There’s going to be a tough game every night and a good game to focus on every night,” Duncan said. “There’s going to be a playoff atmosphere. It’s good prep for us.”

Manu Ginobili went 4 of 9 for nine points and hit perhaps the game’s biggest shot, a top-of-the-key 3-pointer that pushed the Spurs’ lead to 100-95 with 1:25 left.

“It was my first long-distance shot of the game,” Ginobili said. “And I’m happy it went in.”

But the Spurs came up empty on the next two possessions, and Danilo Gallinari hit four straight free throws to pull Denver within one, and the game — like the Spurs’ previous two — came down to the final play of the fourth quarter.

Ginobili and Tiago Splitter defended Gallinari on Denver’s final possession, forcing the ball to Miller, who drove into traffic and lofted his best effort toward the rim.

The ball rolled around the iron and bounced out. The Spurs retired to their locker room to celebrate, sigh in relief and ice their wounds. The playoffs have started, in spirit if not in fact, and there is more where that came from.

“It’s a great win against a hell of a team and we’re thrilled to get,” Popovich said. “We’ll enjoy it tonight, but tomorrow it will be gone. Then we start all over again.”